Will To Wizard
by TheDigiZoo
Summary: Will is a first year in the same class as harry. What does it look like from an outside perspective? Here's your answer. This is my first story, and it will span all of the books -eventually- so hope you enjoy. R&R -and rest and relax- for me!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Will, going to Hogwarts makes every firstie nervous," Telli comforted, "I remember that I was," She smiled warmly at him. Telli was a second year witch at Hogwarts and Will's older sister.

"Dude, don't even worry, man, you'll have a great time," added Will's older brother Simon. Simon, a fourth year wizard, who lived in America for four years, had a weird accent, at least in Will's mind. Telli was even catching on to it, using it herself.

Even with their comforting, Will's stomach still felt like it was in his chest. The sting of bile was lingering in the back of his throat. He felt as if he had not eaten in days, while the reality of the situation was that he had eaten only a few hours before getting on the train from platform nine and three/quarters. Even the presence of his best and only friend, Carra, who was currently a first year along with Will, did nothing to help his unease.

The four of them were sitting in a private train compartments near the end of the Hogwarts express. They were watching the beautiful scenery fly by and willing the time away with idle chatting, which had died down a bit due to Carra's spontaneous nap. She and Will had stayed up all the previous night talking about how great Hogwarts was going to be and which house they would be placed in.

Will had spent the better part of two hours explaining to Carra all about the four houses. Simon had been placed in Ravenclaw for his extreme intelligence, but he stood out due to his temper with authority, and the teachers had come to the conclusion he would've done better in Slytherin. Telli was placed in Gryffindor, due to her reckless behavior and constant curiosity. When she was younger she would do things the bigger boys wouldn't dare try. Both of Will's parents were extremely witty and quite intelligent. Both were placed in Ravenclaw. Will himself was shy and avoided people, and so was Carra, so he wasn't sure exactly where they would be put.

Before Will had met Carra, he would sit alone and study hours into the night. Carra had done the same thing, and when he met her, they became instant friends. When he had found out that she had been invited to Hogwarts, Will was so excited he took her into his home and started to piffle through all of his old and crude wizard toys, shouting every known fact he could remember about the wizarding world all the while. He only stopped when Carra burst into laughter at the site, with which Will felt self conscious and silly, and stopped post haste.

Will was surprised that he wasn't as tired as Carra, but then realized he probably was. He most likely would have fallen asleep if it weren't for the butterflies eating away at his stomach. _"They must really want out,"_ He thought to himself, chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Simon asked, sitting up and taking his eyes off the landscape to look at Will.

"It's nothing…" He let his voice trail off as the train conductor came over the speaker "Three hours 'till arrival at Hogwarts."

Telli sat up quickly and looked out of the train car door.

"Oh boy! The snack cart should be here soon!" She slid open the door and glanced down the hallway, "Yup! Here it comes now!"

Simon smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small pouch. He untied the top and let two gold coins and countless small bronze ones fall into his hand, watching them sparkle in the light. He had gotten a job over the summer writing a column in the daily prophet, and he loved to flaunt his hard earned gold.

"Get whatever you want, it's on me," he told them. Just then the snack cart bell rung and a smiling, dimpled lady slid open the door and asked "Anything off the cart, dears?"

After they had all chosen their snacks, they settled back down in their seats. Simon haphazardly shoved his money back into his pocket. For a while afterward they sat in silence, munching on their snacks and staring off into space. Then Will got the creeping urge to use the restroom, hurriedly dismissing himself with a wave and a mumbled "…right back."

As he closed the train car door behind him he nearly knocked over a boy who looked about his age. The boy had blond hair and a look of shock and anger on his face. He was followed by a pair of tall and ugly boys, one clutching his bleeding finger like a baby and the other looking behind him so much it seemed that he had a sort of immense twitch. None of them paid any attention to Will, an as soon as they realized they had been stopped, they started off again, walking haphazardly down the hall and almost knocking the snack cart lady over in their haste.

Will shook his head slightly and walked off in the other direction.

After finishing what he had set off to do, he walked back in the direction of his train car. Before he had gone down one full train section he was stopped by a girl that looked his age. This girl had very curly brown hair that was tied back in a sloppy pony tail. She was already dressed in her robes, and was holding a textbook under one arm.

Will's first thought was that he had never seen a weirder looking girl, perhaps ever. Closely following her was a pale looking boy with very large ears. He was somewhat hiding behind the girl, and was red in the face almost naturally, or so it seemed to Will. The sight of both of them made Will nearly laugh, but he wasn't sure why.

"Have you by any chance seen a toad? Neville here has lost one," The girl sounded exasperated as she pointed a finger to the boy behind her, and he turned a deeper shade of red, if it was possible.

"No, sorry," Will shook his head. The girl gave a sigh and stormed off. Neville followed close behind, giving Will a muttered "Thanks anyway," as he passed.

Will truly was sorry. What if the toad turned up in his trunk, getting all of his robes covered in toad juices? He shivered at the thought.

Will was mulling over the toad related illnesses his imagination had just conjured when a string of words and laughs came through an open train compartment and floated lazily into his ear.

"… knew about it. Hey, did you hear? Harry Potter's on this very train! Yeah, he's coming to Hogwarts this year! And he's so cute! Or so I hear…"

The conversation Will was listening in on drifted away as the door was closed, but not before it had sparked his imagination. Harry Potter? He was sure that he had heard the name before, but he could not remember where from. "_Maybe he's famous,"_ He thought to himself. He decided to ask the others about it when he got back, and set it aside in his mind.

Just as he opened the door to a new train section, a chocolate frog flew over his head and zoomed past, clinging to the side of the train before flying away. Will stood there for a while, not sure what to make of what he had seen. He decided to forget it for the time being and headed back to his train car, the toad fears returning to his head once again.

"That was a long trip to the bathroom, my friend," Simon gave Will a questioning look, which he shot down immediately by saying "Got held up," and left it at that, sitting down with a muffled thud.

"Hey guys," Will said after settling back in, "I've heard Harry Potter is on this train. Who is he exactly? Is he famous?"

Telli's head nearly exploded. It took her a minute to regain her voice, her face boiled into a rosy red.

"Is he famous? IS HE _FAMOUS_! I can't believe- You don't even- He, he-" She stopped a moment to steady herself. To Will's ultimate relief he wasn't the only one shocked by the outburst. Simon was looking at Telli like she had turned into the world's ugliest cat.

"He's only the _GREATEST_ wizard of our time, besides Dumbledore himself." She screamed, "He's the only known survivor of you-know-who, and was only a baby at the time!"

"And I heard he had a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead, pretty cool,"

The voice startled everyone. Will jumped so hard he fell to his knees into his pre-made pile of candy-wrappers. This voice belonged to Carra, who was now fully awake and laughing hysterically.

"When did _you_ wake up!" Will clambered to his feet and sat back down quickly, scattering all of the wrappers as he did.

"When you went on your epic restroom trip," Carra said, still laughing slightly, obviously pleased with the turn of events. Will silently scolded himself for being tricked, even this simply. "So, why the sudden interest in this Harry Potter guy, anyway?" Carra added after her laughter subsided.

"No reason," Will shrugged. It was true enough.

"I also heard he's really cute for a firstie," Telli added.

"Oooooh, someone has a little crush, do they?" Simon teased, "And let me guess, your going to name the kids Harriet and Harry Jr.?" Simon burst into laughter.

"Shut up!" Telli hit Simon hard on the arm, causing him to shrink back, and everyone else to go silent.

Some time passed before anyone spoke again. Will was munching on some of Simon's candy (who had conveniently left it on the floor and had forgotten to eat it) when Simon screamed, "Dude! I swear, there's a chocolate frog clinging to the outside of our window!" He was pointing franticly to a spot a little lower than the windowsill.

"Seriously? Dude, I think I saw that same frog on my trip to the bathroom," Will jumped up and across Carra on his way to the window. Carra shoved him to the floor and began to straighten her light yellow sundress, ruffled by the scrambling. She saw that Will was staring at her and she hastily sat down and looked away, fidgeting with her hands.

"_Weird,"_ Will thought to himself. Just then the train conductor came over the speaker, distracting him from his thoughts. "Two hour 'till arrival at Hogwarts."

"You guys better go and get your robes on, they expect you to be in them when we get there," Simon said. He and Telli were already in there robes, but Carra was putting it off and Will had forgotten all together.

"Oh, yeah, right," Will rummaged through his trunk, pulled out his robes, and started to take off his shirt.

"Not in here, you dunce!" said Telli, shocked. "You are in the presence of _ladies_," she waved her hand toward Carra, who smiled sarcastically.

"Please," Will retorted, "She's seen me without a shirt plenty of times," It was true, they had gone to the pool a lot over the summers. "It's no big deal," He threw his shirt at Telli.

"Well, yes, but-" Carra spat, fumbling the words she was so desperately trying to communicate.

But Telli interrupted, "_She_ still needs to change, and _you_ can't see that!"

It took Will a few seconds to register what he had heard. When it did, the tip of his ears burned red and he fumbled to pick up his robes.

"Oh, right, sorry…" He got up and left the train car, slipping into his robes on the way out. He and Simon filed out into the hall and stood there, awkwardly, as they waited for the ok to re-enter the room. A few people passed them, giving them weird looks, but they deflected them by staring out at the scenery.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour or more, they were allowed back in. They settled into their respective places, and an awkward silence fell over them like a thick blanket over a small, scared child. Will felt like he should say something, but Simon cut in before he could.

"You two are going to love the boat ride. It was awesome…" His eyes glazed over as he reminisced, returning the room to silence. Again, Will tried speaking, but it was Carra's turn.

"It's getting dark," She said, staring out the window, "Does it usually take this long to get there?"

Will's words were lost in his mind, for at that moment, the train conductor came over the speaker, announcing that they had arrived. And here ends their first trip to the school of witchcraft and wizardry, that magical school called Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"He's Huge!" Carra whispered, staring at the giant man calling for first years. The man was at least seven feet tall and more than half as wide. He had a beard that pretty much left his face a mystery and talked in a deep, scruffy voice. He looked like he could sit on Will and not even notice.

"Careful not to make him mad, Will. He may eat you whole," Simon laughed.

"Don't tease him like that!" Telli punched Simon in the stomach. "He's not mean or anything, he's actually really nice." She ruffled his hair and trotted along after all of the upperclassmen.

"I'll never get used to that," Simon mumbled, rubbing his stomach. He waved goodbye to Will and ran after a couple of girls his age, friends he had made in years past. Will envied him. He could never talk to girls (In fact, the only girls he had ever had a full conversation with were Carra and Telli) but it came so naturally to Simon.

After a little while all of the firstie's had gathered and were eagerly awaiting instructions from the giant man standing in front of them. The man was talking to a boy with glasses and dark, messy hair.

"That's him! That's Harry Potter!" Carra whispered excitedly. She was ecstatic, just like every other girl in the group. They were all whispering franticly, and they reminded Will a little of ants gathering food. Will rolled his eyes and moved to get a better look at the supposed Harry Potter.

The boy was standing with his back to him. He tried to move around him, but he couldn't get through the cluster of people standing between him and Harry. _"Oh well," _he thought to himself. _"Maybe later."_

So he decided to put it aside in his mind, choosing instead to look at other people, and see who could be potential friends. He saw the blond boy again, but he looked much less distracted and much angrier. He seemed like the type to avoid. Out of the other children, only a few seemed nice enough to talk to. The rest just seemed intimidating to him.

"C'mon firs' years, follow me. Mind yer step now!" The giant man bellowed. Will filed along after Carra and the other firsties as they walked down the darkened path. Everyone was silent as they stumbled down the path. Neville sniveled every once in a while.

"Yeh'll be gettin' yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," He called over his shoulder, "jus, round tha' bend there."

There were several "Ooooh's," and "Ahhhh's."

The path opened to the large black surface of the lake. At the far side of the lake there was a cliff, and on top of that, there was a castle. And not just any castle. The biggest, and most magnificent castle Will had ever seen. Its windows sparkled in the light of the stars and turrets rose to the sky, creating a massive shadow over the lake beneath it.

"It's so big," Will heard a girl whisper in front of him.

"No more'n four to a boat," The giant man yelled. Will saw little boats lined along the shore of the lake. As all of the first years were stumbling into there boats, Will lagged behind He looked cautiously toward Carra, who shrugged and walked toward a half empty boat. To Will's surprise, it was occupied by two of the nicer looking girls in the group. _"This is my chance," _Will thought to himself, _"to make some new friends."_

Will struggled to get into the boat and then turned to help Carra. She slapped his hand away and frowned.

"I can do it myself, thank you!" she huffed, and struggled to get into the boat, which she miserably failed at, and plopped back onto the shore.

Will couldn't help but laugh. He tried his hardest to hide it, but it was too late. Carra had seen. She stood up, red in the face and fuming, and reached out her hand. Will took it and helped her into the boat. She sat down and crossed her arms with a huff.

"You okay?" Will asked, but she just scowled and turned away from him. Will smiled and sat down. He knew she would only be mad for a few minutes anyway, she always calmed down fast.

Will glanced at the two girls who were sitting in the boat with him. One had blonde pigtails and the other an extremely pale face. _"C'mon Will, you can do this,"_ Will told himself. He began to muster his courage and was about to speak when the boat lurched forward and nearly knocked him out into the lake, gathering a few giggles from Carra and the other girls. It was embarrassing, but at least she wasn't mad at him.

Once he had resettled himself, he gathered his nerves again, and spoke.

"H-hi," he said, his voice betraying him. He swallowed and tried again. "I'm Will." He could feel his cheeks start to burn, despite his desperate plea to look casual.

Carra glanced at Will, completely baffled. Could Will, her nervous, super shy friend actually be trying to start a conversation, and with a _girl,_ no less?

"Hi! I'm Hannah, nice to meet you!" Hannah perked up, smiling widely. "And this is Susan," she waved her hand toward the girl sitting next to her, who glanced up at them shortly then looked back down, her cheeks turning red.

"Oh, stop that!" Hannah scolded, putting her hands on her waist and pouting at Susan. She turned to Will again. "Don't worry, she acts like this around every boy. She's actually really fun to talk to, if she would ever talk to guys. Now say hi!" She demanded, nudging Susan on the arm. Susan sighed and squirmed in her seat.

"Hi…"

"_Well that worked,"_ Will thought. Who knew it was that easy to make friends? Will felt his voice return, and his shoulders relax a little. "This is Carra," He said, motioning toward her.

Carra waved and gave a little nod. Then she saw that Susan was still staring at her hands.

"Don't worry; this boy isn't like the normal ones. He's harmless," She nudged Will in the ribs, causing him to yelp and recoil, "See?"

Susan gave a little giggle at that and finally looked up. She caught sight of Will, who was rubbing his side, and immediately blushed and looked back down. Hannah rolled her eyes.

"So you two are friends, I guess?" Hannah piped.

"Yeah, we are." Will answered. _"And you're hyper." _He added in his mind.

"Will and I have been friends since I was in second grade," Carra said. "Muggle School," She added, seeing there confused faces.

"So you're Muggle born?"

"Yup," Carra gave a nod. "When Will found out that I was a witch, he nearly exploded, didn't you?" She looked at Will for agreement, nudging him again.

"I did not..." Will was thoroughly embarrassed.

"Were both magic born," Hannah said, putting her arm around Susan. "Our dads both work in the ministry, that's how we met. Cool, huh?" Susan nodded her agreement, and Will followed suit.

There conversation was cut short as the Giant man hollered for them to duck down and avoid the moss hanging at the entrance of a hidden cave.

"What's that man's name, anyway?" Will asked.

"Heck if I know," Hannah shrugged as best she could from her bent position.

"I think it's Hagrid" said a timid voice. It took Will a minute to realize that it was Susan. "I heard Harry Potter say it." She looked at Hagrid._ "Her voice is pretty,"_ Will thought, looking at Susan with a sense of awe. Luckily it was dark, and Will was able to look away without her noticing.

They were silent then as the boats glided up to the shore of the cave. Once the boats had stopped, they scrambled out onto the pebbled shore. Will noticed that the pebbles sparkled in the unusually dim light of the torches on the walls.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid called, picking it up out of a boat and pointing at Neville.

"Trevor!" Neville cried blissfully, running up and grabbing his toad.

"Weird," Hannah whispered to the rest of them. They all nodded there agreement as they stumbled up the path after Hagrid, getting slowly closer to the castle entrance.

Hagrid gave one last call for all of the first years, checked if Neville still had his toad, and knocked the large oak doors three times, then stood back and silently waited.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The giant oak doors cracked open and a tall, black-haired witch slipped out. She was wearing emerald green robes and a stern face, and she held herself in a refined and royal way that gave her absolute dominance over the room, even more so than Hagrid. _"Note to self: Do not cause trouble around her."_ Will thought to himself, his knee's shaking slightly.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid half saluted, half gestured toward Will and the other firstie's.

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here" McGonagall bowed slightly and Hagrid turned to leave.

McGonagall pushed the door open and the entrance hall fell into view.

The entrance hall was so large it could fit at least two average-sized houses, and still have room for a pool. The floor was built out of stone and there were brightly lit torches on the walls. It looked somewhat medieval, at least in Will's eyes. Spiraling upwards were several staircases and the ceiling was so high Will got dizzy just looking up.

McGonagall led them across the stone floor towards a door on the far wall. Will could hear noise coming from a door to the right. He wondered if the rest of the school was already in there. Behind the door she had led them to there was an empty chamber. All of the first years piled into the crowded chamber, standing together like frightened sheep.

After they had all gathered into the chamber, Professor McGonagall started to speak, her voice an odd mix caring, monotonous, and rehearsed.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family here at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope you each will be a credit to whichever house becomes your home.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up as much as possible while you are waiting."

Her eyes wandered the ranks of the first years and at all the imperfections that tend to happen to eleven year olds. Will flattened his hair and made sure his robes were straight.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," Professor McGonagall said, "Please wait quietly."

She left the room. Will swallowed.

Everyone was quiet as they questioned what they might have to do. Will had never thought of it, he just figured they would tell him where to go. He just hoped it didn't involve pain or humiliation.

Then everyone jumped about a foot in the air. There were several screams and Will was sure that he saw someone almost faint.

About twenty or so ghosts came gliding through the wall. They were as white as the full moon and slightly opaque; they floated across the room talking amongst themselves. They hardly glanced at the first years they had just scared half to death. They were arguing, and what looked like a fat little monk was the one talking.

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him another chance-"

"My dear friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not even a ghost, after all- I say, what are you doing in here?"

A ghost with a ruff and tights finally seemed to notice the spooked first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students?" said the Fat Friar, smiling at them all. "About to be sorted, I suppose?"

Will and a few others nodded silently.

"Hope to see you all in Hufflepuff!" The Friar beamed, "That's my old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a stern voice. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start."

Professor McGonagall had retuned. She stared angrily until all of the ghosts had reluctantly left.

"Now form a line," Professor McGonagall ordered, "and follow me."

Will trudged into line behind Carra. Then, right behind him, the supposed Harry Potter got into line. Will glanced back, as casually as he could. He noticed that he really did have a scar on his forehead. But it didn't cause the same awe as he thought. He just looked like a normal kid to him. Sure, a kid with a cool scar, but he had the same fear in his eyes as everyone else.

They walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through the doors that Will had heard all of the noise from earlier.

The room was magnificent, to say the least. It was brightly lit and at first glance, had no ceiling. The beautiful and starry night sky opened up above them, making the room seem even bigger than it already was. There were four long tables, with golden plates and goblets lining them. He spotted Simon at one of them, sitting next to the girls he had ran after earlier. He smiled and gave Will a thumbs-up. Will smiled back, but didn't feel any more relaxed.

Professor McGonagall came to a halt. She set in front of them a stool and placed an old and matted wizard's hat on it. Everyone was staring at the hat, and so was Will. He was interested in what he had to do.

For a few seconds or a few hours (Will was so nervous he couldn't tell) there was complete silence. Then something happened that made Will's heart leap from his chest for the second time in the past few minutes. The hat started to move. The rip in the front opened up, and the hat started to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can top them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find there kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Everyone burst in the hall burst into applause when the hat finished it's song. It bowed to the four tables in turn and then fell still. Will sighed with relief. _"So that's all we have to do? Try on a hat? Why was I so worried?"_ He felt the blood flow back to his legs and the strength return to his being.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

Will saw Hannah blush and stumble forward. She went up and put the hat on, which fell down to her nose. There was a moments silence before—

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table to the right burst into applause as Hannah ran over to the table. The ghost of the Fat Friar waved merrily at Hannah as she sat amongst their ranks. Hannah looked over at Will and waved, grinned from ear to ear.

"Bones, Susan!"

Susan looked back nervously, then ran up to the stool and sat down, looking at her feet. Professor McGonagall put the hat on her head. The hat was silent for a while, then—

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat screamed. Susan's face lit up, and she ran down to sit next to Hannah. Hannah gave her a hug and Will tried his best to smile to them, but his nerves were getting very edgy. McGonagall continued to call more names until finally—

"Frenan, William!" She called.

Will swallowed. He felt like his knees were going to give out again. He glanced at Carra, but she just shrugged and nudged him forward. Will stumbled up to the stool and sat down quietly. He felt the hat slip onto his head and down over his eyes, sending his world into blackness.

"Ahh…" said a small voice, "Another Fernan. You're a difficult lot, you are. A good heart, there, yes... Very hard working… Ah, you've already got some fine friends there, very well; you must belong to—HUFFLEPUFF!"

Will's heart leapt out of his chest as he stood up and took the hat off of his head, but not before he whispered "Thank you," into it. He ran over to the table and sat next to Susan, and gave both her and Hannah the biggest smile he could.

"Congratulations!" said a tall boy with black hair. He gave Will a pat on the back and introduced himself.

"I'm Shane," he said, "Hufflepuff's male prefect. The girl over there is the other prefect," he pointed over at a girl who was introducing herself to another boy who had just been put into Hufflepuff, "Her name is Rebecca. If you need anything, just ask us, okay?" He shook Will's hand and went to introduce himself to the other students.

Only Carra and a few other first years were left. Then he heard the name "Potter, Harry," get called. Everyone froze, and a whisper fell through the crowd.

"Potter?"

"_The_ Harry Potter?"

Harry walked up and sat on the stool. The room was silent with anticipation. A long moment passed. Will found himself sitting on the edge of his seat unintentionally. Finally the hat called out—"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table exploded with applause. Will felt the strange urge to clap for him as well, but he suppressed it.

A few more went, Then McGonagall called—

"Vanezz, Carra."

Carra looked nervously at Will and then walked up to the stool. She sat down and McGonagall placed the hat on her head. Almost instantly the hat roared his choice.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Will clapped vigorously as Carra ran to the Hufflepuff table. She went to sit next to Will and gave him the biggest bear hug he had ever gotten, almost knocking him out of his seat.

"I told you that we would be in the same house," Will smiled at her as she left the hug. She smiled and nodded.

"This is so cool! We're all together, isn't that great?" Hannah called over the cheers.

Will nodded and laughed a laugh of sheer relief. He hadn't been this happy since he had found out that Carra was a witch. Carra seemed just as happy.

Once the cheering subsided and the last few people got sorted, A tall man with a beard as long as his waist stood up to speak. Will recognized him as Dumbledore.

"Who's that?" Carra asked Shane, leaning over the table.

"Why, that's Professor Dumbledore. He's the headmaster here. He's just about the greatest wizard of all time," Shane answered, "Shhh! He's about to talk!"

"Welcome, Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!" He bellowed, and then sat back down. Everyone burst into applause, and Will burst into laughter, stopping as soon as he saw that no one else was.

Suddenly the table didn't seem so empty anymore. Food piled up all over the plates, overflowing onto the table. All eight of the Hufflepuff firsties gasped. There was every type of food that Will could think of. He grabbed the closest food he could get to, which turned out to be lamb chops. He dug into it and didn't stop until his body threatened to fall into a food coma. Everyone else finished around the same time, and then the dessert came. Will ate some, but he couldn't get much more than a few bites of pudding down before his stomach threatened to explode.

"So what's your wand made of?" Hannah asked after she had her fill. "Mine's maple with a dragon heartstring."

"Mine's an oak, with a unicorn hair center," Will answered.

"And mine is pine, with a heartstring as well." Carra added.

They all looked at Susan, but she didn't say anything.

"Susan? What's yours made of?" Will prompted, leaning down to look at her face. Her hair hid most of it, but from what Will could tell, she was blushing a deep red.

"Umm… Uh, m-mines made of y-yew with phoenix f-feathers…"

Will smiled at her and she looked away, and as she did he could almost swear he heard her giggle.

Just then the deserts disappeared and Professor Dumbledore stood and addressed the four tables.

"Ahem—just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. A few of our older students would do well to remember that." Dumbledore glanced at a pair of twins at the Gryffindor table, who smiled broadly and lifted their goblets to Dumbledore.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, our caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used in the corridors between classes.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to all who do not wish to die an untimely death."

Will laughed, but he was one of the few that did.

"And now, before we go off to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. He flicked his wand and a golden ribbon flew out. It wound its way through the air and into words.

"Now everyone pick up there favorite tune," Dumbledore said, "and off we go!"

Will decided to go with the tune from a song by his favorite muggle band, Daft Punk, a french techno band. Will had always liked muggle music, especially the electronic kind.

And everyone bellowed:

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could use some filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everyone finished at different points, and Will was one of the first to do so. After a while, the only people left were the two red-headed twins at the Gryffindor table, who were going for a slow funeral chant. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and then wiped a tear from his eye.

"Ah music, a magic beyond all we do here! And now it is bedtime. Off you go!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The Hufflepuff first years followed Shane and Rebecca through the crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the first flight of stairs. Will felt like he would fall asleep at any second, and had to shake himself awake to keep from falling over. The hardest part was trying to remember the path they had taken.

"That's the library right there," Rebecca pointed out a room to there right. "You'll be spending a lot of time there studying."

"Here we are," Shane said, pulling back a tapestry at the end of the library hall. "Ok then, well, our house is opened by a key of sorts. You hold your wand to the thirteenth brick from the floor and then tap the brick two to the right with your Hufflepuff galleon." He reached his hand into his pocket, pulled out a pile of galleons, and handed them to Rebecca, who passed them out to the first years.

"Now, DO NOT lose those, you hear me? Those are your one and only ticket into our common room. If you do, then tell me, and I'll summon it for you, but it's better if you just hold onto them."

Will studied the galleon, and noticed it had the word 'Hufflepuff' written across the top, but it looked just like a regular galleon in every other respect.

Shane tapped his own coin against the brick and the wall slid to the side, revealing a corridor that led to a well lit room. As Will walked into the room it revealed its true beauty. It had several tables, armchairs, and a couch that looked perfect to sleep on sitting next to a roaring fireplace. There were two doors right next to each other on the opposite side of the room

"The girl's dorms are on the right, the boy's on the left. The first year's rooms are on the top floor." Rebecca said. "Your bags should be next to your beds already. If you still need anything, Shane and I are on the third floors. Goodnight!"

The rest of the Hufflepuff house had already headed to bed, and Will felt like he should have joined them an hour ago. He said goodnight to Carra, Hannah, and Susan then walked up the stairs to the firstie's room. He was followed by two other boys.

The room was small and homely, with all of the beds set up against one wall, while the rest of the room was filled with dressers and bed stands. Will noticed that his cat, Drenri, was laying on his bed. He personally didn't like most cats, but this cat was a present from Telli, and if he wanted to stay on her good side, then he would have to live with it. It wasn't all that bad, the cat liked him well enough, as long as he fed him.

"Oh man, I am so tired," A boy yawned as he fell onto one of the beds.

"Me too," Will said. He walked lazily over to his own bed and did the same.

"Wa's your name?" said the third boy in mid yawn.

"I'm Justin," Said the first.

"I'm Will," Will added, pulling off his robes and getting into his pajamas.

"I'm Kyle," Said the third boy, "Nice to meet you."

"You too," answered Justin.

Will laid back in his bed. "What a great day…" He mumbled. The other two boys nodded their agreement, but Will had already drifted into dreamland.

Will was in the middle of a field, and it was snowing. There was no sun, but it was bright as day. He was sitting with Carra, and they were talking about things Will didn't know in a language he didn't speak. They talked and talked, and Will was beginning to wonder what she was saying. He became aware that he didn't recognize his own words, but he couldn't stop them from coming out of his mouth. He tried desperately to say something they would both understand, but it just couldn't come out. He was trapped in his own body, and he couldn't get out. Then Carra started to get up, and she looked angry. Will tried to say something meaningful, but he couldn't say anything but gibberish. She began to walk away, and Will wanted to follow her, but he sat there mutely. He couldn't do anything as Carra disappeared into the snow. He was now all alone, and as he sat there, he started to cry on his own accord.

Will woke with a start. It was still dark outside, and the other boys were still asleep. He was sweating profusely and tears streaked his face. He got up and went to the bathroom to wash it up.

"_What a scary dream,"_ He thought. His legs were shaking and his face was pale. We washed his face and took a warm shower, then got into his robes and went downstairs. He was going to sit on the couch when he realized that there was someone already there. He hadn't been necessarily quiet as he came downstairs, so he decided to join this mystery person.

"Hello?" Will called.

The person jumped and turned around to see who it was. The mystery person turned out to be Susan.

"Susan?"

"Will?"

The shock seemed to scare the timidness out of her. _"It's funny how that works," _he thought as he sat down next to her.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, leaning back and trying to hide his sickly pale face.

"J-just couldn't sleep. It h-happens a lot…" she stuttered, staring into the fire. The flames cast a light over her skin that made her seem like she was faintly glowing, and Will had to mess with his hair to keep from staring. "W-what ab-bout you?"

"Had a bad dream," he said casually. "It happens from time to time. They usually mean nothing." He may have said that, but this one felt different, more ominous. What did it mean? He sure didn't want to find out.

"Th-that's to bad," she mumbled. She looked over to him and for the first time he saw her eyes. They were a pale blue. The looked immensely deep, and showed age far beyond her years. Will couldn't help but stare into them. He felt as if she truly understood the fear and sadness he had felt in his dream. He wanted so desperately to know why that sadness was there.

Susan must have guessed what he was thinking, because she smiled faintly and laughed a frail and feeble laugh.

"You-Know-Who k-killed my parents when I was a baby. I've b-been living with H-Hannah this whole time, but she w-would never admit to that." She put her face in her hands. "I'm s-sorry, forget what I said…"

Will put his arm around her shoulders, and tried to console her.

"No, no, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" He tried to find the right word for it, but he didn't actually do anything, so he settled for just being there "I'm sorry."

"It's o-ok. I was j-just thinking a-about what m-my mom would h-have been like, who my d-dad would h-have been today... I-I may have j-just barely k-known them, but I m-miss them so much..." This time her voice wasn't shaking with nerves, but she was on the verge of tears.

Will had never done this before, but he went with his gut feelings. He wrapped his arm around her and brushed the hair out of her face. She looked up at him, tears running down her face. She leaned her head into his chest and cried. He sat there as she did, and finally, after a while, she began to calm down. He gently pushed her up, looking into her eyes as he did.

"Feeling better?" He wiped away one of her tears.

"Yeah…" Will could see in her eyes relief beyond measure. She smiled at him and wiped her face in his robes. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," He responded, giving her a hug. She pulled away and kissed Will on the cheek. She then blushed as she got up and walked to the girls dormitory.

"Thanks again," She said, "see you tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Will sat there, stunned. He had just gotten his first kiss! Sure, it was on the cheek, but that should count, in his opinion. Right?

Wait, what was he thinking? This was Susan he was thinking of. She just became his friend, and she was just thanking him, right? Of course, that had to be it. She was just being nice.

His thoughts were interrupted by a noise behind him. A house elf had dropped his duster.

"T-terribly sorry, Young Master, I-I was just cleaning…" The house elf looked thoroughly terrified.

"It's fine, really. What's your name?" Will turned to talk to the little elf, which seemed to spook him more.

"G-grenden," said the frightened little elf.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Will," Will responded in his kindest voice, trying not to scare him any more. "So… Did you just hear all of that?"

Grenden nodded and then recoiled as if he was about to be hit.

"No, no! It's fine, really. Just, please, don't tell anyone," Will didn't want this to get out.

"O-of course, Young Master Will," Grenden responded, relaxing a little.

"Are you the only house elf here?" Will asked. Then he realized what a stupid question it was, and turned red in the face.

"No sir," the little house elf went back to cleaning, having avoided a possible threat. "There are several of us. We make all of the meals and we clean up at night. For payment we get to stay here at this lovely castle. A tremendous generosity on behalf of Master Dumbledore, don't you think?"

"Yes, I think it is a great deal," Will agreed. _"This little guy is talkative," _He thought, _"Maybe I should give him some company more often. It may make him happier, and I may be able to get late night snacks."_

"If it is not out of place, Young Master, may I ask you something?" Grenden asked, pulling down a pillow from one of the armchairs and fluffing it.

"Of course, go ahead. And enough of this young master stuff, just call me Will,"

"Of course, Young- I mean Will," Grenden looked nervously over his shoulder, "Do you like this Susan girl?"

"I'm not sure…" He was thinking about her, that was true enough, but he was still very confused.

"She seems to like you, Master Will," The house elf said. When he realized his mistake he began hitting his head on the fireplace.

"Whoa, whoa, it's ok; you can call me Master Will, just stop that!" Will knew how to handle a house elf's self punishment. His family had a house elf for a while, but his mom was sick of not being able to clean for herself, so she decided to give her to another wizarding family.

Once Grenden had calmed himself enough to start cleaning again, Will got up and walked to the guy's dorms.

"I'll see you later, Grenden," Will was starting to feel tired again.

"Sleep well, Master Will," Grenden stopped cleaning the couch of and waved to Will.

"You too," Will stumbled up the stairs, fell onto his bed, robes and everything, and drifted into asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Will, wake up! It's time to go to class!" Kyle was shaking Will's shoulder. "And why are you in your robes?"

"I don't know," He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and sat up. "What class?"

"Charms, my friend. No time to change," Justin glanced at Will's robes, "not that you need to."

Will got up and followed his roommates down to the common room, and as he walked past, Drenri leapt up to him and Will fumbled to catch him. Justin laughed at Will, "Does he always do that?"

Will smiled and tried to position the cat better, "Yup, whenever I leave I let him roam around. He'd probably love to do that here."

The girls were already waiting downstairs.

"What took you so long?" Hannah asked, standing up and stretching.

"Will wouldn't wake up. And he was already in his robes," Kyle answered, walking over to the tapestry/door.

"Interesting," Carra answered. She had been talking to Hannah and another two girls Will didn't know.

Will let Drenri go once they had left the room, and he bolted down the hall in search of any mice that may be unfortunate enough to cross his path.

Susan smiled at Will as they all walked down the hall. He smiled back and checked to make sure he had his Hufflepuff galleon. He did.

"So where is this class anyway?" Hannah asked.

"It's just down this hall, right he - aaghk!" Justin sputtered, passing through a ghost going the other direction, causing everyone to laugh.

Will and all of his friends were sitting in the library after the first day of classes.

"I can't believe that we already have homework," Hannah complained.

"C'mon, it's only one class. And it's only reading." Kyle was reading his Potions book, having already finished his Charms homework. "This stuff is really interesting! Did you know that you can actually make an instant sleeping potion? I would use that! It's really hard to sleep when it's actually time to…" he flipped through a few more pages.

"Yeah, I guess, but truthfully I couldn't care less about sleeping. Is there a potion that makes homework easier?" Hannah looked up from her book, a sarcastic imitation of hope in her voice. Kyle rolled his eyes and continued to read.

Will was already done with his homework, and was reading a Muggle fantasy book he found in the back of the library. It was interesting, but seriously, what some of these Muggle authors come up with. Goblins and trolls controlled by a giant eye, fighting as allies against humans and elves? That would never happen. And all of the wizards were old coots that couldn't tell a frog's eye from a cat's eye. It made him laugh at how silly they were.

"Hey Will," Carra had finished her homework early too. "You wanna go out to the lake? It's better than staying in here."

"Hey! What about us?" Justin asked, waving his hand at Hannah, Susan, and the other two girls Will hadn't quite learned the names of. He thought one may start with a B, but he wasn't sure.

"You two can catch up with us when you finish reading," she said, then thought a moment and corrected herself, "on second thought, why don't we just go out there and do it?" She pulled herself up with the aid of a sturdy bookshelf behind her and walked toward the door. "Well? Are you coming?"

There was a bunch of scrambling as everyone gathered their belongings and ran after her. Will was left checking out the fantasy book he had found, and learned that it was actually the third in a series of books, so he rushed to grab the first one. That's where he had run into the strange girl from the train ride the day before. She was looking longingly at a row of advanced level Transfiguration books and muttering something about how sharp the needle should be.

He walked past her trying to avoid eye contact, but as he reached for the first book in the series, she let out a disapproving snort.

"Reading fantasy already? You should be more worried about school, there's so much we need to learn!" She looked at the title with a sweeping glance, and snorted again.

"And you need to learn not to worry what I do with my free time," Will shot back, pulling the book defensively from her line of sight. "What do you care anyways?"

She smiled a disapproving smile, like the ones your mother would give you if she found out you had been trying to get cookies before dinner, causing a surge of anger well up in the pit of Will's stomach. "School is much more important than a silly book, that's why." She said in a mentoring voice.

"Shows what you know," Will said angrily. He walked away as he heard her giggle at his anger, like he was just a toddler and she was his mother. What right did she have to act like that? He shook his head as he checked out the book, then ran after his friends as fast as he could, gritting his teeth in anger.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"What took you so long?" Carra asked. Justin had already abandoned his homework and was swimming in the lake when Will got there, and the rest of them were just finishing.

"Nothing, nothing," Will said, taking his book and sulking to the big oak sitting at the edge of the lake. He plopped down and flipped open the book furiously. Carra took note instantly and sat next to him, patting his shoulder.

"Of course it's nothing, because, you know, you _always_ sulk when you're happy," she said, her voice laced with sarcasm so thick Will just had to roll his eyes. He laughed despite himself more for her sake than his.

"Just some girl in the library. She was being a stuck up snob is all," he said with a sigh. He flopped back into the tree and gave his book a vigorous shaking as if it had offended him, not the girl. What was her name, anyway? Like he cared.

"I'm sorry," she said a bit sadly, giving him a loose hug from his side that he answered with a nudge to her neck. He and Carra were always close, especially when one of the two was sad or upset. They'd pay just the right amount of attention to the other and make the other laugh as easily as a quick hug or a smile; Will was feeling better already.

"Thanks," he mumbled softly to her, leaning back and looking up through the leaves of the big, old oak. He re-opened his book and flipped through the pages.

He began to read, Carra silently reading over his shoulder. About five or six pages into it he got lost in the story, so he wasn't sure when Carra became bored, but around page thirty he looked up and she was no longer there. He felt a pang of regret being alone again, but he shook it off and went back to reading.

His thoughts were disturbed yet again when a dripping wet Hannah dragged a shy as ever Susan up to him, sitting her down and saying in a semi-demanding tone, "Suz here would like to know what book you're reading. Mind if we sit with you?" She asked and remained standing. She obviously didn't want to stay herself.

"Um… sure," He answered, his mind still lost in his book. He gestured for Hannah to sit, but she politely shook her head and smiled.

"I'm still soaking, and I want to get back to the water," She waved and was gone within the next few seconds, leaving an awkward silence in her wake. Will wasn't sure what to say after last night, and he was sure that she wasn't going to start the conversation. Her cheeks were a rosy color and her hair still covered her eyes, which he could tell were watching his book curiously.

"Oh, uh, I'm reading Lord of The Rings. It's by this Muggle author, J.R.R. Tolkien. It's about his version of a magical word, and it's just ridiculous, but he has a great imagination." Will started, holding out the book for her to examine. She timidly grabbed the book and skimmed the first page.

"S-seems interesting," She stammered, looking up through her hair and smiling at him timidly. Will smiled back encouragingly. He was going to prove he wasn't someone to be afraid of.

He smiled and took the book back, flipping through the pages to find his again. He looked at her and thought for a moment, maybe a bit too long. He lost his train of thought and picked up a new one, about how he wanted to see her eyes. "Hey, why do you have your hair like that? I can't see your face well."

He reached up to brush the hair behind her ear but she pulled back quickly and stammered "Um… Uh, I like it like this…" She blushed a deep red and then got up quickly, "I… I've got to go." She walked off in a hurry, leaving a rather sad and confused Will behind.

"_Wonder what that was about," _He thought, watching her as she walked off back toward the castle. A moment later Hannah ran after her, still sopping wet. Carra and the others saw this and an awkward silence fell on them.

Kyle was the one to break it, saying, "Well, I think that's enough swimming, guys. Let's go get ready for dinner." He got up and started to walk back to the castle, followed by Justin and the girl Will didn't really know. It turned out her name was Beth.

Will got up and started to sulk back to the castle. Carra caught up to him and whispered "What the heck was _that_ about?"

"I only tried to move her hair out of her face; I didn't know she would react that way!" He shot back defensively, a little bit too loud. The three who were ahead of them turned around curiously, and will lowered his voice, "I just wanted to see her eyes..."

Carra's eyes lit up and she gave a little gasp. "You _like _her, don't you?"

"Do not!" He whispered furiously, only fueling her curiosity.

"Oh, I think you do, Will," She started to laugh loudly, causing the rest of the group to turn again. Will felt quite embarrassed and turned red at the tips of his ears, and stormed ahead, both mad and embarrassed at her accusation. He had to admit though… he may like her like that. She was cute, and had a pretty voice… and beautiful eyes…

Will was so lost in the battle between his thoughts that he nearly knocked over the blonde boy he had run into earlier. And this time, the boy noticed.

"Hey, you! Watch where you're going!" The boy said in an over demanding tone. He snapped his finger and barked "Goyle!" to one of his two thugs. The taller one grabbed Will by the collar and pulled him up. Will struggled against him, but this boy was at least three times his size, and his struggles were in vain. "Now, what are you going to say to me?" The blonde boy said, glaring at Will, making him feel small even when looking down on him from his vantage point in Goyle's hands.

"Let me go!" He struggled to say, starting to kick at his shins.

"Oh, no, that's not right," The blonde boy said. He punched will in the stomach, "Try again."

By this time Carra and the others had caught up and Will saw them standing behind the group of slytherins. He tried his hardest not to give them away, and as he was getting hit, he saw Carra raise her wand and yell something, but in the resulting confusion, he didn't know what she said.

Goyles hands and face started to turn red and swell, and he dropped Will in alarm. Will took advantage of his temporary lapse of focus to scramble around them and stand next to his new friends. He pulled out his own wand and pointed it at them, hoping this bluff would work. He really wised he was reading a book on prank spells rather than a muggle book.

"_Wait, my book!"_ Will thought franticly. He had dropped it while he was struggling to get free. He was about to go and get it when it rose into the air and flew straight into his chest. With a soft thump it landed in his arms. "What the…?" He looked over to his friends and surprisingly, Beth had learned something in her book after all.

"What have you done to Goyle?" The blonde boys expression had changed from anger to fear, and he was now on the retreat. He ran for it, and his henchmen ran after him, Goyle holding his face. The blonde boy turned around one last time and yelled "You'll pay for this!" before he disappeared back into the castle.

Will and the others stood there, staring at each other for an odd moment before Carra burst into laughter. "We did it!" she said ecstatically.

"Yes, but what did we do?" Kyle asked soberly. Carra punched him in the arm and smiled.

"Won our first fight!" she said happily. She put her arm around Will and pulled him towards the castle, whistling a happy tune.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Dinner on the second night was served with silence. The Main dish was a roast, with the traditional sides, and as Will sat awkwardly fiddling with his pile of peas, the fight and Susan was weighing heavy on his mind. Hannah was sitting across the table, eating silently, glaring at Will while the rest of the group sat in awkward silence.

The silence screamed in Will's ears.

When dinner had finally ended they all trudged back toward their common room, awaiting the punishment they thought they deserved. Will wanted to apologize to Susan for… something, but he couldn't really think of what to say. Hannah spoke up first, though.

"So why is everyone so quiet?" She looked at everyone curiously.

"Well…" Kyle started.

"We won our first fight!" Carra interjected happily.

"You did what?"

"You heard me, we won our first fight!"

"And hopefully our last." Kyle added solemnly, giving Carra his soon to be tagged "Shut Up" glare.

Will looked toward Susan, who was sitting beside Hannah, quiet and blushing. They made eye contact, and Will mouthed, "I'm sorry."

She shook her head vigorously, pointing to Hannah and shrugging. He understood and a sense of relief ran up his spine. Hannah must have overreacted and refused to listen to Susan. He was relieved Susan wasn't mad, but now he had another problem to worry about. Hannah didn't seem like the type to forgive so easily.

They arrived silently at the tapestry, and Kyle led them in. Beth sat on one of the couches around the fireplace and exchanged glances with Kyle, who sat next to her.

Beth cleared her voice gently and said, "Hey guys, I want to figure all this stuff out." She looked at Will, "What happened? How did you get that guy mad?"

"What guy?" Hannah demanded.

"The blondie in Slytherin, he was bullying Will," Carra answered, "and we showed him who's boss!"

"'Who's boss?'" asked Kyle.

"It's an American saying, it means we showed them what-for," Will shrugged. Kyle nodded.

"So you guys got in a fight? Are you ok?" Hannah directed that last question toward Will, alarmed.

"Yea, I'm fine, really," He nodded, "I was just thinking and didn't see where I was going. I had my head down and ran into him. He was mad, is all."

"Well he had no right to do that," Carra piped. "We need to teach him that we're the boss here, and he can't do that!"

"Carra, think for a minute, we're in a school that we could easily get kicked out of if we cause trouble. We need to just not bother him, and problem solved! If he keeps bothering us, we can just tell a teacher." Beth pleaded. She was a kind girl, Will noticed. A bit passive, sure, but very caring.

"Alright," Carra sighed. "But you have to admit, it was pretty awesome!"

"I want to learn some fight spells now!" Justin added, finally allowing himself to be happy that he got away with a fight. He threw a few punches at the air and hopped on the balls of his feet.

"You didn't even do anything," Carra jabbed.

"Well I would have!" he answered defensively. "If I knew the right spells!"

"Guys" Justin interjected, "Seriously, we need to not do that again. I agree with Beth."

Will sighed. He was just glad it was over. He got up and smiled, "Well guys, whatever happens we still need to sleep. So let's go to bed. We can talk about this later."

Everyone nodded their agreement, suddenly realizing that they were in fact, exhausted. They stood up. Gave their friendly hugs and goodnights, then headed upstairs to their bedrooms. Will got into his pj's, curled up on his bed. He started to doze, just as Drenri curled up at his feet. Will chuckled as he fell of into a sleep that didn't seem to go anywhere. His mind was blank and he was unconscious for a while, until he realized he probably wasn't asleep at all.

He opened his eyes, and saw that he had in fact been asleep, and, again, had woken up in the middle of the night. He crept downstairs to the common room and sat on the couch, this time alone. He stared into the fire as it softly hummed and crackled, unaware of his surroundings, completely lost in thoughts about his first day at school. Only when a little hand grabbed a prod and poked the fire alive did he notice that he wasn't alone.

"Grenden!" he gasped, jumping as he saw the little elf prodding the fire.

"Oh, hello, Master Will! Just thought I'd come to help keep you warm. Would you like a blanket?" Grenden snapped his finger and a blanket appeared in his hand.

"Um, sure, thanks." He said as he took the blanket and wrapped his shoulders in it.

"I thought I should warn you, Master Will, Mistress Susan is coming down from her room," Grenden smiled, and snapped himself away before Will could protest. Will turned around just in time to see the door to the girls doors open.

Sure enough, the little elf was true to his word, and down came Susan. She smiled and came up to the couch, sitting on the opposite end as Will. "H-hey."

"Hey," he replied, "Are you ok? I didn't mean to scare you or anything earlier today. I just…" He trailed off, unsure of what he meant to do in the first place.

"No, no! I came t-to check on you. You got in a fight…" She was eyeing him; concerned he may have more severe injuries than what showed.

Will chuckled and shook his head, "Yeah, I'm totally fine. Everything worked out alright, everyone was there to help so I didn't get beat up or anything." He smiled and gestured his arms wide, proving full range of mobility without any harm.

She relaxed a bit then looked at her lap. "We weren't there to help," She whispered.

"It's probably better that you weren't. He was pretty scary and all." Will smiled and waved it off, "how did you know I'd be down here?"

"I didn't…" She shivered involuntarily on the couch next to him.

Will took notice and threw the blanket over her head, letting it parachute down over her. "There!" He laughed, "Now you aren't cold anymore."

She yelped and fumbled to get her head out of one of the sides. Will was laughing hard by the time her head appeared from one edge, her face red and her hair askew. "That's not funny!" She barked softly.

"You know, you're a lot braver when you're upset." Will stated, standing up, "You should try to be more open, at least to us. We're you're friends you know."

Then something came over Will, a thought. He thought of how Simon was always confident in everything. Then, only two, very simple words, _"Why not?"_ And he decided to get a little confidence of his own. Or at least borrow some from Simon.

He leaned foreword until his face was right in front of hers, and touched their noses together. His heart was racing, but the smile he had was genuine. "See?" he whispered plainly, "I don't bite."

Her face was the usual deep scarlet, but she didn't back away. Her hair had been messed up enough to where her eyes were visible and they were locked to Will's. He stood in front of her, his nose lightly touching hers for a few moments; smiling and looking into the eyes he didn't want to stop looking into.

Then he stood up, and turned toward the dorms. "Goodnight, Susan." He smiled back to her, Susan frozen to her seat. He walked back to the boy's dorms, and as he was closing the door, he heard Susan's voice clear and strong, "You can call me Suz if you want."


End file.
